Studio One

Rome... again!

2011-09-25T18:26:00.000+01:00

I must have thrown a coin in the Trevi Fountain in 2008...

Studio One's theme for 2011-2012 is 'In a Dark Space: Cinema and the City'

'By any definition, Rome is a cinematic city par excellence. As a site for filmmaking, notably in the form of the city's cinematic alter ego, the studio complex of Cinecittà, and as a location itself, whereby the monuments (pristine or ruined), streets and piazzas created by successive occupants of the Eternal City were called on to provide picturesque backdrops or act as symbolically laden mise-en-scène, Rome has had a long and prolific history.’

Richard Wrigley

We will be returning to the Eternal City. Watch this space for a new blog....

Update 2011

2011-03-14T12:11:00.022Z

This blog has been dormant since the summer of 2009. For more recent work of a similar vein see my current websites:

http://russelldlight.blogspot.com/

http://perspectiveresources.blogspot.com/

The theme for Studio One in 2010-2011 is 'The Street'.

Studio One is dead...

2009-09-05T12:18:00.000+01:00

A remixed Studio One will begin in November 2009...

Alain De Botton follows Dave to Heathrow...

2009-09-05T12:15:00.004+01:00

Heathrow Airport gets writer-in-residence.

SSoA Summer Exhibition 2009

2009-06-18T20:58:00.007+01:00

Studio 1 invite you to come and visit the Sheffield School of Architecture Summer Exhibition 2009.

When: Friday 19th June 2009, 18.00pm
Where: Crookesmoor Building, Conduit Road, Sheffield, S10 1FL

Exhibition runs from the 19th June - 25th July 2009

in association with SUAS : Sheffield University Architecture Society

Taster images of the exhibition will soon appear on the blog...watch this space!

The School of Life Holiday Homes

2009-05-22T23:02:00.003+01:00

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=428&storycode=3140884&channel=783&c=2&encCode=0000000001991a0a

Rebuilding the West Pier in Brighton

2009-05-17T15:42:00.007+01:00

Although this project started by thinking about how architecture creates an exotic experience in modern tourism, it ends with a completely opposite position creating a walkway of peace calming one’s mind. The original idea was to rebuild the West Pier, which was burnt down, to be an ‘entrance’ for a theme park about disaster, which is portable on a container ship. However, after a few visits to Brighton, instead of a theme park, a place for spiritual health may be more suitable at this seaside resort in this modern time.

In the 19^th century, people would come and visit Brighton as they believed that staying at the seaside was good for their health. With the passage of time, a wide range of entertainment was added in Brighton and the idea of having good health was forgotten. In the 21^st century, the tempo of living is so fast that it threatens some people’s mental health. A place where people can calm and rest their minds may be needed. The new proposed West Pier is about peace and serenity.

By building a circular walkway around the ruined old pier, people may clear their minds by walking on it. At one entrance/exit, an herbal tea shop would provide natural refreshing drinks for visitors. At the other entrance/exit, a spa could provide massages. A 12 meters high viewing platform at the furthest end provides a panoramic view of Brighton from the ocean.

Poor Tourism

2009-05-16T22:12:00.010+01:00

'When Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel, Pope Julious II wanted him to spread rich colours and gold on the frescoes he was re-touching. 'Holy Father', he said pointedly, 'in those days men did not bedeck themselves in gold, and those you see painted there were never rich. They were holy men who despised riches.'

Inside the Vatican

Many desire to escape their day to day life when they decide to go on holiday, for a week or maybe two, you can journey to a beach, an exciting new city or perhaps a ski resort and enjoy some time out from the monotony and hardships of life back at home. My proposed project seeks to explore how the homeless, poor, or those with very little might enjoy a similar type of escapism from their day to day life. The project is about a radical yet logical shift in the Vatican's approach to tourism in their country.

Sunday morning mass in St Peters Basilica, Vatican City you will find grand, luxurious spaces, elaborate rituals and a large number of holiday makers recording the scene. However not far from St Peters Square you will find the homeless sleeping on the streets, the old begging and people selling what they can to passers by.

A quarter of buildings in central Rome are owned by the Vatican, the holy see receives about £50million a year in donations and in 2006 alone, 8000 properties were gifted to the church in wills. The project is about how Vatican City might be able to give something the poor living in Rome.

By Marc

Axis Theatre - The Built Stage Set

2009-05-16T14:19:00.019+01:00

Client: Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)
Sponsor: DirectGov, British Arts Council & The National Lottery
Location: Island Gardens, Greenwich/Isle of Dogs
Project: Thrust Theatre (708 seats) incorporating a Cafe and Landscaped Roof

The Axis Theatre is a contemporary theatre situated in Island Gardens on the Isle of Dogs in London. It has a seating capacity of 708 and is capable of hosting plays,ballets, operas, musicals, pantomimes and small concerts. The use of the theatre is centred around a market of various companies that are invited in to perform for contracted amounts of time to increase the range of productions and appeal to both foreign and native visitors. The building is comprised of a main auditorium that houses a thrust theatre with a glazed backdrop to reveal the infamous Greenwich axis as a stage set. This view is also expressed by a vast roofscape over the main auditorium that is adjoined by a public, open-air, informal amphitheatre and a cafe. The scheme proposal is in keeping with the intentions of the Greenwich development initiative to "maintain & enhance key views & provide an attraction for tourists, in turn creating a culturally richer setting and increased employment."

The inspiration for the design of the project sets its roots in a study that commenced in the "public" piazzas of Rome. The study was centred around the transformation of explicitly public performances spaces of ancient Rome to the now "open-private" spaces enjoyed predominantly by tourists and visitors.

Careful consideration was given to the physicality of spaces and the manipulation of views that buildings enforce through their adjacencies, fabric, orientation and interpretation. The teachings of the analyses in Rome manifest themselves in the design of a theatre that intertwines the more private realm of a commercial theatre production with the public setting of a park that is enhanced by outdoor performance facilities, a viewing platform/recreational space and a cafe. This is achieved by creating a space that acknowledges and enhances its built surroundings and axial setting (Greenwich axis) whilst imposing a minimal impact on the landscape and its current use.

VATICAN [towards middle ground] CHINA

2009-05-16T10:00:00.009+01:00

The architecture of this project consists of two elements which help conceal a third:

the first, a Chinese language school, on Pincio Hill;

the second, an underground Vatican archive, in Pincio Hill;

and the third, the concealed element, and paramount of all:
a tacit Chinese seminary hidden in Pincio Hill.

This tacit Chinese seminary-cum-language school is proposed within the context of existing difficulties between the Roman Catholic Church and the Chinese government, manifesting itself in a Vatican-comissioned, seminary for Chinese students hidden within Pincio Hill.

Given that many of the pivotal moments in the Bible take place on hills, it seems appropriate to locate the project on and in a hill. Pincio Hill overlooks Piazza del Popolo. With this piazza being of notable significance for pilgrims, it is there, on and in Pincio Hill that the “vatican archive [tacit chinese seminary] language school” project is to be located.

It is in the interests of the Catholic Church to maintain secrecy of a soon-to-be Chinese seminary in Rome. This is achieved by setting up a Chinese language school, in a prominent location - Pincio Hill - connected to the seminary. Many Chinese people seen in the area will not arouse suspicion if it is known that there is a Chinese language school nearby. With the underground seminary [secretly] connected to the school, this allows seminarians to exit the seminary through the school.

With six years of seminarians and staff occupying space in the hill, the idea is that they circulate the seminary independently, and have living accommodation specific to each year that is private within the year. However, they also collectively share space, for example, the dining room, library, chapel, etc. This is achieved by creating a labyrinth underground that enables the built form to have an element of mystery and suspense for the users. Seminarians inhabit a “new” area within the seminary in every year of study until they reach ordination.

The rite of Ordination is held during Mass. This threshold is particularly important for the candidate, during which there is a period where candidates prostrate themselves on the floor for about fifteen minutes. Below, I depict the idea of the underground cavernous chapel designed in such a way so that this special moment coincides with the sun basking a beam of light from above.

By Yan

Campo de' Fiori: Cinema Culture-Cafe Culture

2009-05-16T00:36:00.024+01:00

This project addresses a small urban piazza, Campo de’ Fiori ("field of flowers") situated in the historic centre of Rome. The Campo offers an eclectic range of activities throughout the day with a traditional food market which takes place in the morning and a buzzing cafe/bar culture at night. The site offers a unique opportunity for natives and foreigners to co-exist within a vibrant inhabited space, experiencing everyday Roman life away from the touristic emphasis of other famous sites in Rome.

The Campo de’ Fiori’s famous Farnese Cinema was built here in 1930s and serves as an important symbol and legacy of the revolution of Italian Cinema in the 20th Century. This single screen (300 seat) cinema originally operated as an art house screening independent films. A recent renovation completed in 2008 has revived the cinema with a more contemporary feel showing a wide array of Italian and international films.

However there remains a missing link between the main space of Campo de’ Fiori and the Farnese Cinema which this project aims to revive and exploit. Therefore through creating a new edge to the east end of the Campo and working with the existing urban fabric this proposal intends to re-address this relationship. Additionally this scheme introduces several civic/community functions addressing the desire to respond to the needs of a range of social groups; young and old, foreign and native.

Programmatic elements include a new entrance foyer for the cinema; a new bar/restaurant which will line the edge of the square; a roof-top cinema/performance space; film workshop/languages class spaces. There will also be on-site storage and services for the market traders, as well as a crèche and roof-top playground.

With reference to the original themes of the studio - authenticity, travel and the past - this project is about reconnecting the old with the new and offering new possibilities for the prosperity and future of Campo de' Fiori.

Greenpeace and Heathrow Airport

2009-05-15T22:10:00.008+01:00

Based on a plot of land purchased by Greenpeace within the proposed Heathrow Airport Expansion area, this project explores a possible architecture of protest against the demolition of Sipson Village, a close-knit community outraged at their forced removal in preperation for the Third runway (if realised).

Greenpeace have purchased this plot and arranged a legal system of purchase by beneficial owners - anyone willing can send them an email to own a piece of the land. Currently 32,000 people have signed up, slowing the enforced land purchase as each owner will have a legal representative in the case against BA, and this project aims to reinforce this movement.

The project also aims to provide information and learning about the alternatives to traveling abroad by plane. It offers a place to consider ‘holidaying at home’ through the teachings of The School of Life who provide a variety of ideas from philosophy to literature and psychology to the visual arts, all implemented to encourage a rethink into how we travel and to cherish the mundane and everyday.

By David Bannister

Beyond the Cutlery Drawer

2009-05-15T15:59:00.011+01:00

The project initially developed from my personal interpretation of Rome’s success as a tourist destination by taking influence from the immortalisation of fragmented ruins and the spatial sequences experienced whilst exploring the city, which creates curiosity and anticipation for both tourist and resident alike. As a resident and tourist of Sheffield, I decided to pursue the project locally to explore these themes.

The chosen site for this exploration is the St. Vincent’s area, which provides a link between the city centre and Kelham Island Museum. Historically known as the Hollis Croft district, the St. Vincent’s area was the first area of expansion away from the medieval boundary of the city centre. During the nineteenth century, the area also accommodated the greatest number of workshops, which were primarily based around the tools and cutlery manufacturing industry. The area now hosts a variety of manufacturing workshops from surgical instruments to non-destructive testing facilities.

The aim of the project is to promote the past, present and future of Sheffield’s manufacturing heritage in the form of a cutlery museum that interweaves within existing domestic scale industrial workshops in the St. Vincent’s area, providing a link between the city centre and Kelham Island Museum.

go......SEE Rome.

2009-05-15T11:57:00.009+01:00

Project Introduction:

The agenda of this project is to question the pace and personal value of the typical, present-day tourist experience, set within the context of mass tourism in Rome. The intention is to provide a public tourist facility that aims to slow the pace of which the cultural heritage of Rome is experienced.

The hope is that by looking at less in greater depth, we might indeed SEE more. That the typical tourist might be converted from 'sight-seeing' to 'site-seeing' with a more thoughtful and enriched understanding of their immediate surroundings.

The site chosen for the building borders the Via dei Fori Imperiali, Mussolini's desired processional route between the Piazza Venezia and the Coloseum, and also overlooks large areas of the Roman Forum.

The intention for the project is to provide a place for shelter and rest, information, nourishment and cultural stimulation, within a building that rigorously explores and exposes the site and its immediate surroundings through a journey of views. The emphasis on a slower pace is enhanced by the provision of alternative seeing tools, and a prioritising of sketching and drawing above the speedy idleness of the digital camera.

Images included:

Seeing aids:

- Camera exchange
- Chair vending

Site Seeing - site analysis

by Rachel Harris.

Trajan's Market Theatre

2009-05-15T11:17:00.016+01:00

This final project developed out of an earlier small intervention project – in which the natural ‘auditorium’ of the Spanish steps was given a stage. This led to studies of theatricality throughout Rome, spaces that can be transformed, rigorous investigations of existing buildings, and research into the history of theatres, ancient and modern. In contrast to the initial intervention project, Trajan’s market seemed to provide the stage; the auditorium was to be created out of the existing surrounding buildings.

Trajan's market is located in central Rome, amidst the ancient fora, just outside Trajan's historic Forum. Despite its enormous scale and imposing building mass as a single entity, it is dwarfed by the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II just nearby.

This project aims to reinvigorate Trajan's market as a vibrant, bustling centre for culture, hosting a diverse range of functions throughout the year - changing art exhibitions, lunchtime music recitals, small scale promenade theatre, an outdoor cinema, large opera productions, rock concerts, and many more.

The building will also continue to act as a museum, displaying the archaeological artifacts found on site and highlighting the building elements themselves as worthy exhibits. In highlighting the often unnoticed details, the approach to the building seeks to continue this theme of revealing processes, turning the theatre aspect on its head, revealing some of the mystery and magic of theatre to the audience - allowing them to catch glimpses into props and costume making workshops, set building and rehearsal studios as they journey through the building's spaces.

The re-use of this building also incorporates the re-opening of the Via Biberatica, which runs through the centre of the market. New shops will line the shady street, encouraging a wider use by a larger variety of people.

With a view to making this site more accessible to the public generally, improving the circulation and encouraging routes through the building are key issues. While much of the intervention with the building is 'light touch' in manner, the approach to circulation is stronger, making visual links between levels of the building from its exterior. Using new circulation routes will also help preserve the existing structure, reducing footfall on the worn historic fabric, and encourage people to look again, and in a different way at the ancient building around them.

ROME: Culture & Commerce by Tom Marsh

2009-05-15T11:08:00.010+01:00

The story begins with Mario Resca. The government have formed a new 'super manager' role for him, his task being to create more revenue from Italy's museums. Vallorizazzione or value-adding is the buzz word. It is understandable that there is plenty of controversy surrounding this appointment. Can the culture and heritage of Italy survive the inevitable influence of modern commercial business?

The brief aims to test this idea by proposing a sort of 'McMuseum' that merges exhibition space with retail space that efficiently extracts money from tourists. It will house two exhibitions; a temporary show of original pieces that are to be loaned abroad and a more permanent collection of plaster casts from these pieces. This duality questions whether culture can coexist with capitalism. By adding 'value' to the museum, is the de-valuation of culture inevitable?

The idea of consumption is key to this project. The building will be sited opposite the Pantheon in central Rome and the architecture will literally consume its surroundings for added attraction. It is impossible to compete with the ancient wonder of the Pantheon in a contemporary building, however it is possible to offer alternative and enhanced experiences of it from within this building.

Palatine Archaeological Centre, Rome

2009-05-14T19:02:00.011+01:00

Project Introduction

This project started by investigating the popular tourist destinations of the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. The latter is much less visited in comparison, perhaps the necessary journey to ascend the hill daunts many visitors, similarly; the lack of any well-known 'site-seeing' monuments that await visitor’s upon the hill means that many choose not to go on and explore the fascinating grounds.

Another great shame is that much of the site is inaccessible to any ambulant or disabled users. The Palatine Hill once accommodated one of the most complex arrangements of architectural space known to civilisation; surely it’s not too ambitious to think that this site could now become accessible to all?

The Master Plan looks to reinvent the Palatine Hill, give new merit to its visit whilst opening up some levels to the public, giving it back to the people of Rome. The scheme centralises around an area in the heart of the hill, an area which links the underground networks together and allows visitors to choose how to experience the Palatine. The space itself is a large excavation, built from the process of preserving some of the roman ruins. Modern technology is displayed in its performance, suspending fragments of the ruins, allowing visitors to view and interact with the archaeology in unprecedented ways.

The British Centre, Rome

2009-05-13T15:57:00.008+01:00

Project introduction

This project is about the shifting, malleable concept of national identity and whether it needs to be re-harnessed for changing economic directions. The premise of this research questions the control and production of the perception of a nation, and goes on to investigate tourism as a process which works symbiotically with concepts of national identity whilst employing both cultural and economic systems on an equal level.

The project is based in Rome and the site lies in a prominent position between the Trevi fountain and the Galleria Piazza Colonna. This imposing context is used to explore the contrasts between internal and external presence, and the possibilities for dissolving these transitions both in plan and section. The collaboration of the 3 British entities in Rome; The British School, the British Council and the British Embassy creates the opportunity for consolidating the presence of British creativity and cultural production in the foreign territory. The building becomes a singular stage for events and interactions with the overt intention of promoting the evolving British knowledge economy facilitated by diplomatic administration.

The project investigates notions of a foreign national image and culture through materiality and the transformation of urban space with performance and spectacle by studying the dynamics and rituals of the Italian piazza. By employing methods gathered from the creation of retail typologies and mechanics and also the World Expositions as their intent evolved from industrial to cultural exchange, the British Centre seeks capitalise on Rome's intense flow of tourists by exporting and curating the products of the creative industry.

a composite of Nolli's map and an updated civic map

Pete McMahon.

For more information please see my MArch blog at http://petemcmahon.wordpress.com/

The School of Life (project introduction)

2009-05-13T09:32:00.004+01:00

This Project explores how the recently abandoned Sheffield City Airport may be reinvented into a holiday destination (of sorts), and why we should expect more than cheap flights to Spain from a strangely beautiful expanse of tarmac lying hidden among the City’s seven hills. Inspiration for the project comes from Des Esseintes and Baudelaire , two of literatures least intrepid but most thought provoking travelers. The Villa of Des Esseintes (from J.K. Huysmans 1884 novel A rebours provides the ideological standpoint for reconsidering the notion of tourism.
‘For a proud but small minority open to poetry of a different sort, there’s at last an ideal travel agency to hand.’ 1
My Client is the ‘School of Life’, a unusual travel agency who dispute the notion that our holidays ought to be about escaping reality, and instead propose that they should serve to enable us to understand the world in which we live. They offer holidays to the neglected corners of the everyday life, such as Holidays up the M1, a Holiday at Heathrow and weekends dedicated to looking at the sky.
Therefore my project proposes the co-existance of two of these types of non-place, the abandoned Sheffield City Airport (reinvigorated by the presence of Sheffield Aero Club), and a new (wind powered, electric car) Service Station on the site. These programs are then enriched by the holiday facilities such as the artificial beach and the cloud room, as well as conference and hotel facilities.

The Future of Service Stations(?)

2009-05-13T09:11:00.002+01:00

http://www.betterplace.com/company/video-detail/better-place-battery-switch-technology-demonstration

Demonstration of the world’s first automated battery switch technology for electric vehicles. This simple range extension technology is part of an overall solution that includes an open network of charge spots deployed where cars park.

Schmap Rome Guide

2009-04-19T23:00:00.006+01:00

One Dead Man Photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released 7th edition of Schmap Rome Guide:

Hadrian's Villa
http://www.schmap.com/rome/activities_guided/p=13544/i=13544_57.jpg
http://www.schmap.com/?m=iphone#uid=rome&sid=activities_guided&p=13544&i=13544_57

some global facts [unreferenced though]

2009-04-14T17:09:00.003+01:00

heres a little dose of reality for us coming to the end of our formal education and embarking on a 'professional' career!

see this book for some great insights into global knowledge systems...

Designing Universal Knowledge, Gerlinde Schuller, Lars Muller Publishers, 2008

The Bund Tourist Tunnel, Shanghai

2009-03-30T12:16:00.003+01:00

"A pedestrian transit tunnel crosses the Huangpu River from the Bund. Passengers board slow-moving powered vehicles which travel along the tunnel, with light effects projected onto the walls of the tunnel. These effects are marketed as a tourist attraction."

Thought this idea of practical transport solution come tourist attraction might be interesting for a few projects. For more photo's search Flickr, there a a few different light effects. It's a bit like Willy Wonka, you can watch it here.

The School of Life (Project Update)

2009-03-25T19:14:00.011Z

This project is about traveling less but seeing more, it is about how economic and environmental factors appear certain to change our travel habits, and how we ought to respond; It is about holidaying at home.
It explores how the recently abandoned Sheffield City Airport may be reinvented into a holiday destination (of sorts), and why we should expect more than cheap flights to Spain from a strangely beautiful expanse of tarmac lying hidden among the City’s seven hills. Inspiration from the project comes from Des Esseintes and Baudelaire , two of literatures least intrepid but most thought provoking travelers. The Villa of Des Esseintes (from J.K. Huysmans 1884 novel A rebours. (See Chapter2) provides the ideological standpoint for reconsidering the notion of tourism.
‘For a proud but small minority open to poetry of a different sort, there’s at last an ideal travel agency to hand.’ 1
My Client is the School of Life’, a unusual travel agency who dispute the notion that our holidays ought to be about escaping reality, and instead propose that they should serve to enable us to understand the world in which we live. They offer holidays to the neglected corners of the everyday life, such as Holidays up the M1, a Holiday at Heathrow and weekends dedicated to looking at the sky.
My research has involved membership of the Sheffield Aero Club, thanks to John Dawson (who has both literally and metaphorically taken me into the clouds); and long days spent writing this report at Woodhall Services on the M1 watching the world go by.

An addition to the reading list?

2009-03-17T14:20:00.006Z

TRAVELS IN HYPERREALITY, by Umberto Eco.

I've just started reading this as my bed-time book and (thus far at least) it's a really good read with a lot of relevance to our studio themes..."Faith in Fakes", as you can see opposite, is its subtitle.

So far it has been dealing with issues of authenticity, has touched on theme parks and our concepts of reality. Can recommend it!

See:
http://martucci670umd.blogspot.com/2008/04/umberto-eco-travels-in-hyper-reality.html for a good synopsis of the book (I've not yet read enough to do it justice!).

Tourism Update

2009-02-26T22:17:00.005Z

Rome bans horse-drawn carriages

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7913458.stm

'Touring Britain'

2009-02-26T22:07:00.006Z

'Touring Britain' is a series of two TV programmes on BBC4, exploring the use of the travel guides. The first programme, which screened this evening, looked at the impact of the Baedeker guide:

"Cultural historian David Heathcote uses his favourite old 1887 Baedeker Guide to explore modern-day Britain, discovering unexpected delights and hidden treasures which were popular with Victorian tourists but are rarely visited today. Following in the footsteps of early American tourists who arrived off the boats in Liverpool, he takes the advice of the Guide and discovers 'the most fashionable of Welsh watering places'. The Guide then recommends a trip to the salt mines, popular with American visitors 100 years ago and, surprisingly, just as interesting today. He then travels on to Manchester, recommended by Baedeker as a hotbed of music, politics and radical thinking and discovers that the spirit of what attracted the curious visitors 100 years ago lives on. The journey ends in York where modern day tourists follow in the footsteps of their Victorian counterparts and enjoy the magnificent medieval city and cathedral. As he travels, Heathcote explores the story behind the guide books that were so influential in creating the independent traveller as we know it today."

It can be found on BBC iPlayer here.

Next week's programme will look at the Shell guides for motorists that were produced from the 1930's.

One & Other

2009-02-26T15:30:00.002Z

This is an amazing project!!! A clever way to reuse a public space!!!

Source: http://www.oneandother.co.uk/

This summer, sculptor Antony Gormley invites you to help create an astonishing living monument. He is asking the people of the UK to occupy the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London, a space normally reserved for statues of Kings and Generals. They will become an image of themselves, and a representation of the whole of humanity.

Every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break, a different person will make the Plinth their own. If you're selected, you can use your time on the plinth as you like. One & Other is open to anyone and everyone from any corner of the UK. As long as you're 16 or over and are living or staying in the UK, you can apply to be part of this unforgettable artistic experiment.

You can play your part in making this idea a reality - either by volunteering yourself, by telling others about it, or by experiencing it online or in the square itself.

Antony Gormley on the Fourth Plinth from One & Other on Vimeo.

Teatro Urbano

2009-02-16T17:59:00.006Z

For those of you interested in Urban Theatre... I found this annual event in Rome - unfortunately the next one isn't until Sept 2009, but never-the-less...

The Annual Festival Internazionale del Teatro Urbano aims to transform urban spaces into theatre spaces and the pedestrians into the extraordinary. The festival "present[s] theatre pieces specifically created in city places (urban sceneries), where people (spectators) come together for absolutely different reasons (eg. in the underground)." The agenda of the festival is to reclaim the theatre and combat indifference (presumably between people from different backgrounds) via the use of 'guerilla tactics'...and it's free! (well to the spectators at least!). The events take place all over the city at set locations -some more conventional or in need of 'carnivalisation' than others.
For more info - check out: www.abraxa.it

2009-02-12T16:58:00.002Z

I have just received an email off a friend in Taiwan who has informed me that the British government no longer requires visa's from Taiwanese travelers (probably other countries too) in order to increase tourism in the UK because the economy is so bad at the moment!

500 hectares - the project

2009-02-11T01:04:00.016Z

Brief:

The notion of a 500 ha project derives from Cutrufo’s proposals for a Disney inspired theme park of this size on an undisclosed site on the margins of Rome. What alternative uses or infrastructure could be proposed for such a large area of the city? You are free to be as realistic, polemical or visionary as you wish. You might find inspiration in existing urban elements that we visited, such as Hadrian’s Villa, EUR, or the Vatican; in the competition project for Coney Island; or in the major project that you are currently developing.

The project jumps in size from the very specific individual propositions and detail studies that you have made so far, and concerns city planning at the largest, most broad brush scale.

Site:

The site that is offered for this project is the outskirts/periphery/margins of Rome as shown on Google Earth. An alternative basis for a project that would engage in a historical dialogue with the city is the 1816 Plan Topographique de la Campagne de Rome that is available on the shared folder. If appropriate to your main project, an alternative 500 ha site located elsewhere may be proposed.

Figures:

500 ha = 5 sq km = 5,000,000 sq m

Rome has an average population density of 2,105.5 per sq km. At this density, 500 ha is sufficient space for 10,527 people.

500 ha = 1,236 acres (UK) = 1.93 sq miles

500 ha = MMMCMLXVIII or 3,968 actus quadrati (Roman acres)

500 ha = the area of central Rome shown in this Google Earth image:

500 ha = one theme park

For a topical comparison, the slums of Mumbai that feature in the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, and which have been proposed by Prince Charles as a viable model for urban housing, accommodate half a million people in an area of 520 acres (only 210 ha!).

See articles here and here from the Guardian for more information on Mumbai slums.

Timetable:

Introduction – 10.15 am, Wednesday, 11. Feb

Pin-up/review – 1 pm, Thursday, 12. Feb

(roughly 20 hectares per hour)

Did we miss this?

2009-02-10T23:50:00.005Z

"What have hamburgers got to do with Italy's extraordinary cultural patrimony?"

"Italian heritage groups and opposition politicians have criticised the appointment of a former McDonald's executive to run Italy's museums. Mario Resca, 62, who worked as Italy manager for the fast-food chain for 12 years before moving last year to relaunch a state-run casino, has been appointed to squeeze more revenue out of the country's museums, part of a shake-up at the culture ministry."

Further details here

2009-02-03T12:04:00.003Z

February Issue of The AR has a few interesting things to offer...

discussion on "Context or ambiente" talks about how buildings must relate to both their past and the present, and makes reference to TS Eliot's, 'Tradition and individual talent' (1919) - which may be of some interest. It also mentions the recent frequency of 'international architects parachuting their visions into foreign places' contributing through their travel to 'making global architecture an historic phenomenon.'

Feature Articles which may be of interest:
Historical Drama - a Roman (rediscovered) amphitheatre in Spain and
Conversing with the past - modern buildings to house the old culture
...there are also a couple of historic refurbs...

captured city: studio photo exhibition

2009-01-29T19:10:00.005Z

Dead Man Photos

2009-01-15T17:07:00.014Z

In 2004, after being amazed by the fancy ornate interior of the Royal Palace of Madrid, I hanged around Plaza de la Armería. It’s a sunny cold winter morning. The shadow casted on the façade of the Palace was so dark and heavy and then suddenly, a feeling of death came all over my body. I realised that during the scrambles of power, many people died for this Palace, for this empire and for this country. Probably just outside the Palace in this plaza, people killed each other in those battles. I asked my friend to take a photo of me playing dead to memorize this feeling of death.

4 years after in 2008, I went to Rome for a study trip. The feeling of death was back in this historic city. With the helps of my studio group-mates and our tutor Russell Light, a series of dead man photos was made. We even took a photo of group dead men.

During the process of producing these photos, the heavy feeling of death was substituted by a playful feeling. In an environment full of tourists, the action of playing dead appeared to be the same as the action of displacing the ‘V’ gesture in front of the camera. Also in the eyes of other tourists, playing dead was more related to those childhood role-play games in which children pretend to be soldiers/cowboys/pirates/etc killing each other. Therefore in Rome, it might be logical to pretend to be a gladiator and play dead. Playing dead became a show for the tourists and turned into a funny collective memory.

For more photos please check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7787304@N05/sets/72157612557619065/

Hadrian's Villa (Villa Adriana) 2008 Taken by Ivan Cao Heng

Hostel with Wings

2009-01-09T18:15:00.002Z

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/interactive/2008/dec/23/jumbo-hostel-stockholm-arlanda-airport

Brits Abroad

2009-01-09T18:00:00.005Z

Breakdown of all UK Residents trips abroad by: a]Destination, b}Reason for Travel [Holiday/Buisness/Visiting Family &Relative/Misc], and c]Method of Travel.

drawings of rome

2008-12-28T22:01:00.001Z

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_macaulay_s_rome_antics.html

Trevi Re-formatted

2008-12-16T10:33:00.001Z

Collective Memory

2008-12-16T10:00:00.003Z

A Map representing the distribution of Flickr photographs taken of the top 10 British Holiday destinations.

Trevi Removed

2008-12-16T09:50:00.004Z

A study of the Trevi Fountain and its role as one of the main tourist spectacles in the city of Rome. By removing it from the piazza it redefines it as a cultural icon, rather than a consumerist object. The famous view becomes occasional as it is only seen through a peep-hole in the surrounding wall. The wall is lined with mirrors to create an infinite unpopulated view of the spectacle which re-values the millions of toursit photographs from before, and historicises them as experiences, rather than mindless captures.

studio one suffer illness at EUR!!

2008-12-16T09:38:00.007Z

Google Earth

2008-11-12T23:07:00.008Z

Google have just announced a new resource that is available through Google Earth - a virtual ancient Rome!

Google have worked in conjunction with Virginia University, who's researchers have also developed the Waters of the City of Rome interactive website.

A BBC news item on the project is available here.

The Google Earth ancient Rome page is here.

(Update... it does work! You have to click on one of the ancient Rome icons and then download the different layers, starting with 'terrain'. The terrain layer loads quickly, but the others take ages!)

Viginia University's Rome Reborn site is here. (with less cartoony imagery than Google!)

Studio One shared folder

2008-11-12T12:35:00.003Z

Further to Martin's email about the transfer of archstud folders to a new server, I have set up a Studio One folder on the new archstud server (the old archstud has been renamed archstud 2 and is now only available as back-up).

The folder is on Magna (appropriately the only tourist attraction of the servers!) and is called 'Studio 1 08-09'.

I have uploaded the Nolli map and 1812 map of the environs of Rome, together with a number of other diagrammatic maps, film posters etc.

Bella Roma!!!!

2008-11-11T11:16:00.007Z

Travel Guides:

http://www.timeout.com/travel/rome/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/italy/rome/

http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2006/06/16/AR2006061601218.html

Audio Guide:

http://travel.guardian.co.uk/audio/soundsofthecity/0,,1731426,00.html

...And if anyone fancies winning another trip to Venice...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/travel_images/article3103829.ece

A competition which may interest the Studio 1 crew...

2008-11-11T10:34:00.009Z

ImagineConey is an initiative of the Municipal Art Society of New York to create new ideas for the future of Coney Island to restore the area to its former position as a great entertainment and amusement area - "the world's playground".

MAS is inviting submissions for ideas for events and festivals, new amusement rides, the design of new structures and for interim activities for Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, USA. These should convey in words or graphics your ideas for the future of Coney Island.

The submissions will be displayed on imagineconey.com and at an exhibit at the MAS that will open in January 2009. Final deadline for submissions is December 15th.

Visit http://www.imagineconey.com/ for more info!

Useful Links:
http://nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/coney_island/index.shtml
http://www.thecidc.org/Planning/InteractiveMap/InteractiveMap.html
http://www.coneyisland.com/
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/coney_island/coneyisland3.shtml

Initial meeting

2008-11-08T12:34:00.002Z

Can we all meet on Monday 10. November at 12 in the studio?

Proposed agenda:

- confirm travel arrangements

- initial reading

- dates/times for film screenings

- research and base materials needed before trip

- things we intend to do in Rome

- things we need to take

(feel free to add anything I've missed)

A plan...

2008-10-22T22:08:00.011+01:00

Imagine producing an architectural plan measuring 18 metres wide by 13 metres high (the equivalent of 470 A1 sheets).

Imagine drawing it at a scale of 1:240, so that it can represent a city area of 4.3 kilometres by 3.1 kilometres (1,350 ha), yet be detailed enough to show all the internal walls of every building.

Imagine it drawn, not on paper, but painstakingly inscribed by hand onto 150 slabs of the finest marble, to form a durable architectural survey weighing some 80-100 tonnes.

An ambitious undertaking? A folly? A fiction perhaps?

Such a plan was actually undertaken 1,800 years ago in Rome, during the reign of Severus. It was mounted on an interior wall in the Templum Pacis (Temple of Peace) adjacent to the Imperial Forum. Today, the plan is known as the Forma Urbis Romae, or the Severan Marble Plan.

This unique and remarkable object soon became neglected and eventually desecrated as the ancient Roman city fell, with the valuable marble slabs being reused for other building projects and even being burnt to make lime. What survived in-situ was quickly lost, becoming buried with other rubble at the foot of the wall.

It remained lost until 1562, when fragments were first excavated, arousing great excitement among antiquarians. This excitement was short lived however, and many of these pieces were again lost when they were reused a few years after during the construction of a garden for the Farnese family. Scholarly interest in the plan was only revived some 80 years later, when a project was undertaken to reassemble the existant fragments by Pietro Forrier, the curator of the Capitoline Museum, and his assistant Giovanni Battista Nolli (just six years before producing his own plan of the city).

Since this time further fragments have come to light sporadically in many different locations. Sometimes single pieces are unearthed, occasionally larger quantities have been found, including a cache of 451 of those that had been used in the Farnese project. The most recent piece was discovered during the construction of an underground passage in 2001.

Today, there are a total of 1,186 known fragments that have been recovered, representing about 10-15% of the original plan. They are inaccessible to the public, except for very occasional temporary exhibitions of a few selected fragments, and are stored in crates at the Museum of Roman Civilisation at EUR. A digital project currently being undertaken by Stanford University aims to comprehensively record all of the fragments and to make the plan widely accessible for the first time.

Projects

2008-10-18T15:10:00.003+01:00

Three projects are proposed in the first few weeks of the studio:

1. Piazza Interrotta (micro-Nolli, or 'Nolli to go')

This project focuses on the historic centre of the city. It takes the Nolli plan, that was the starting point for the Roma Interrotta project, and cuts it up into smaller, 'piazza sized' pieces. Each person in the studio will be randomly assigned a different fragment and make studies of that specific place and then propose a specific intervention within it. The first part of this project will be undertaken while we are in Rome. It will be further developed on our return to Sheffield.

2. Diary of details

This is an on-going observation dairy, in sketch book (or possibly blog) format. The intention is to explore detailing and design through the study of a specific Italian/Roman theme. Potential topics could include any of the following, but you are free to pick any subject that interests you.

- coffee machines

- scooters

- cafe/bar counters/fittings

- street furniture

- fountains

- market stalls/canopies

- insertions into ruins

- film posters/hoardings

3. A new Rome in a week (100ha per day)

This short, broad brush project focuses on large-scale interventions on the periphery of Rome. Drawing on the diverse range of large urban elements that already exist on the edge of the city, this project will explore alternative ideas for new urban interventions at a similar scale (500ha) to the recently proposed theme park.

Big things on the edge

2008-10-18T15:08:00.005+01:00

A provisional list (to be elaborated):

- The Vatican, 44 ha, population ~800, 1377

- Villa Adriana, 80+ ha, 117AD

- Cinecitta', 40 ha, 1937

- EUR, ? ha, 1938

- Ostia, ? ha, population 50-75,000, 3rd century BC to 2nd century AD

- Bagni di Tivoli

The intention is to visit a number of these during our visit. They offer diverse precedents for the 'New Rome in a week' project.

The trip

2008-10-18T13:38:00.011+01:00

The suggested window for the field trip is between Sunday 16. November and Wednesday 26. November. Ideally, it would be good to be in Rome on a Sunday (just to hear all the church bells and get the full experience!). I'm open to suggestions as to which dates we go within this window and for how long.

Ryanair currently has daily flights from East Midlands to Rome Ciampino. Typically a return fare is around £30 - 40, including taxes. There may be other cheap deals offered by other airlines. A short train or bus ride takes you from Ciampino into the centre.

Hotels are generally expensive in Rome but there are some cheap hostels. One that seems worth checking out is The Yellow, which is a short distance from the main train station. Daily rates are about €14 per person for a six bed dorm, or €18 for a four bed dorm.

(A euro is currently about 77p)

A lot of other hostels are listed at hostelworld.com, but I haven't had time to check through this. Lonely Planet also has quite comprehensive online accommodation listings for Rome.

Within the historic centre, the cheapest hotel option that I've found is about €30 per person in a four bed room, but this could save on time and late night taxis!

A subway map of Rome can be downloaded here.

Roma Interrotta

2008-10-18T12:37:00.010+01:00

"It is easier to design the cities of the future than those of the past. Rome is an interrupted city because it has stopped being imagined and begun to be (poorly) planned. In Rome the issue is more about time than about space. The tides of centuries have passed and left behind on the sand the relics of remote shipwrecks; and, like all relics they are surrounded by an immediate and boundless space, the sea and the beach. It is a city that was initially inhabited by remains, then by ruins, and today, by rubbish...

...fortunately Rome has never been afraid of a shambles. It is a city of Providence, and Providence patches up shambles. The beauty of Rome exists in its being a messed-up city patched up a countless number of times. Could we pretend that Providence was followed by utopia, a mother and daughter detesting each other? Utopia has never set foot in Rome, much less so than in Las Vegas."

Guilio Carlo Argan (1978)

The original 'Roma Interrotta' competition was held in 1978 and was a key event in the development of post-modernism and Italian rationalism. Twelve international architects were each given one section of Nolli's map and asked to re-imagine Rome. The presumption was that time had been suspended since the drawing of the map and that history had been interrotta (interrupted). The architects were:

I Piero Sartogo

II Constantino Dardi

III Antoine Grumbach

IV James Stirling

V Paulo Portoghesi

VI Romaldo Giurgola

VII Venturi and Rauch

VIII Colin Rowe

IX Michael Graves

X Rob Krier

XI Aldo Rossi

XII Leon Krier

The schemes varied widely in attitude, from the plausible urban collage of Colin Rowe, to the pop kitsch of Venturi and the despair of Leon Krier. The competition and all twelve entries are examined in detail in Architectural Design, Profile 20, No.3-4 1979, which was guest edited by Michael Graves.

Thirty years on, the 1978 exhibition has been revived and is currently showing as part of the Venice Biennale, alongside a new exhibition which also explores the urban plan of Rome. Curated by Aaron Betsky, 'Uneternal City' asks twelve new architects to re-imagine the city of Rome, focusing on peripheral areas, rather than the 'eternal' centre. The architects are:

1. BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), Copenhagen

2. Centrola and Associates, Rome

3. Clark Stevens, California

4. Delogu Associati, Rome

5. Giametta and Giametta, Rome

6. Koning and Eizenberg, California

7. Labics, Rome

8. MAD, Beijing/Tokyo

9. n!studio, Rome

10. Nemesi, Rome

11. t-studio, Rome

12. West 8, Rotterdam

Incomplete notes on recent mayors

2008-10-13T09:10:00.010+01:00

Giulio Carlo Argan (mayor 1976 – 1979)

Argan was the first communist mayor of Rome. He was an eminent art historian as well as a politician. Many of his writings deal with architectural topics and it was Argan that proposed the ‘Roma Interrotta’ competition of 1978 to explore imaginative new propositions for the city. Argan’s books range across the following subjects:

1955 - Pier Luigi Nervi

1957 - Botticelli

1962 - Gropius/Bauhaus

1969 - The Renaissance City

1977 - Henry Moore

1983 - History of Art and the History of the City

1984 - The Baroque

1990 - Michelangelo

Francesco Rutelli (mayor 1993 - 2001)

Originally a surrealist artist, Rutelli had an early political background with radical, libertarian leanings. He became a campaigner for green/environmental policies in the late 80’s. By the time he became mayor of Rome, he was part of the centre left. In the national elections of 2001, he unsuccessfully led the ‘Olive Tree’ coalition against Berlusconi. In 2006, he became Prodi’s Deputy, serving also as Minister for Welfare and Culture. Following Prodi’s defeat against Berlesconi in January 2008, he turned his sights back to Rome and stood unsuccessfully for mayor against Alemanno.

Walter Veltroni (mayor 2001 - Feb. 2008)

Veltroni, of the centre-left Democratic Party, served two successive terms as mayor. He has a long involvement in Rome’s politics, having been first elected as a city councillor for the Italian Communist Party in 1976. His cultural initiatives as mayor included free jazz concerts, free museum openings and the White Nights festival. He was also one of Barack Obama’s earliest supporters in Europe. He stepped down as mayor in order to pursue politics at a national level, becoming leader of the Democratic Party.

Gianni Alemanno (mayor since April 2008)

Alemanno is a member of the National Alliance/People of Freedom. He is a controversial right wing politician, connected with neo-fascism and xenophobia, but also a champion of the ‘slow food’ movement. In addition to a campaign to expel migrants, he has reversed many of Veltroni’s initiatives, including the White Nights. One of his many controversial cultural pronouncements since becoming mayor has been to propose a referendum to decide whether Richard Meier’s recently completed museum for the Ara Pacis should be demolished. He has also proposed to ban Hollywood actors from attending the Rome Film Festival. It is his deputy, Mario Cutrufo, who has announced the EuroDisney inspired theme park.

Someone has been there before...

2008-10-08T20:57:00.006+01:00

Thin Cities 4

"The city of Sophronia is made up of two half cities. In one there is the great roller-coaster with its steep humps, the carousel with its chain spokes, the Ferris wheel of spinning cages, the death-ride with crouching motorcyclists, the big top with the clump of trapezes hanging in the middle. The other half-city is of stone and marble and cement, with the bank, the factories, the palaces, the slaughterhouse, the school, and all the rest. One of the half-cities is permanent, the other is temporary, and when the period of its sojourn is over, they uproot it, dismantle it, and take it off, transplanting it to the vacant lots of another half-city.

And so every year the day comes when the workmen remove the marble pediments, lower the stone walls, the cement pylons, take down the Ministry, the monument, the docks, the petroleum refinery, the hospital, load them onto trailers, to follow from stand to stand their annual itinerary. Here remains the half-Sophronia of the shooting-galleries and the carousels, the shout suspended from the cart of the headlong roller-coaster, and it begins to count the months, and days it must wait before the caravan returns and a complete life can begin again."

Italo Calvino (1972) Invisible Cities

Souvenirs

2008-10-06T11:28:00.008+01:00

Michael Hughes - a souvenir set on flickr...

Nolli plan of Rome, 1748

2008-10-01T18:35:00.005+01:00

Nolli's plan can be explored in detail on the interactive website developed by the University of Oregon.

Introduction

2008-10-01T17:03:00.023+01:00

Studio: Rome – Travel, Authenticity and the Past.

‘If our lives are dominated by a search for happiness, then perhaps few activities reveal as much about the dynamics of this quest – in all its ardour and paradoxes – than our travels. They express, however inarticulately, an understanding of what life might be about outside the constraints of work and the struggle for survival. Yet rarely are they considered to present philosophical problems…’ Alain De Botton

Rome – the Eternal City – could be described as iconic in many ways. It is one of the cradles of early urban civilisation; the axis mundi of the ancient Roman empire; the court of the Popes; a centre for Christian pilgrimage; an archaeological touchstone for generations of artists and architects; a must-see for contemporary tourists. It has been repeatedly sacked and laid waste, only to be re-built anew. Its urban form has been re-invented many times over: by Emperors such as Trajan, Diocletian and Hadrian; by Popes such as Paul III and Sixtus V; and in more recent times by Mussolini. The result is a densely worked city of many superimposed and often conflicting layers.

Rome may be considered the urban laboratory par excellence. Travel and tourism of one form or another, have always been inextricably linked to its history.

In August 2008, the current deputy mayor of Rome, Mauro Cutrufo, announced a new initiative for a 500 hectare theme park to be built on the outskirts of the city, which could be completed within three years:

‘…what the Eternal City really needs to keep visitors coming is not museums, but fun rides. "The model is EuroDisney in Paris," said Mauro Cutrufo… If Cutrufo gets his way, anyone bored of touring actual remains of republican and imperial Rome can head to the suburbs to see the same thing in fibreglass. "You would relive scenes from the Colosseum, from ancient Rome, gladiators or maybe Julius Caesar or other things," a Rome city official said…’ Guardian, 15 August 2008.

This proposal is the starting point for Studio One’s investigations this year. The aim is to explore architecture’s role in the relationship that we create with the past. We will consider issues of: tourism/travel, heritage, museums, theme parks, pastiche/authenticity, and ‘destination architecture’. The intention is to begin to propose projects and specific architectural interventions that develop an appropriate empathy and respect of the past and yet which can still be contemporary, enjoyable and uplifting. The precise definition of these terms is of course open for you each to determine yourselves.

From an environmental and technological perspective, the studio will consider issues of: the joining of new and old; sustainability and re-use; the autonomy of form; and the environmental lessons that can be learned from traditional indigenous buildings and urban form.

Source material

2008-10-01T15:29:00.030+01:00

Texts:

Julian Barnes (1998) England, England, Cape

Alain de Botton (2002) The Art of Travel, Penguin

Sebastiano Brandolini (2008) Rome: New Architecture, Skira

Emily Braun (ed.) (1989) Italian Art in the 20th Century, Prestel

Italo Calvino (1972) Invisible Cities, trans. William Weaver, Picador, 1974

Eamonn Canniffe (2008) The Politics of the Piazza, Ashgate

Michael Graves (ed.) (1979) Roma Interrotta, Architectural Design Profile 20, Vol. 49, No. 3-4 1979

Stefan Grundmann (1998) The Architecture of Rome: an Architectural History in 402 Individual Presentations, Alex Menges

J.K. Huysmans (1884) Against Nature, trans. by Robert Baldick, Penguin (also partial ebook on Project Gutenberg)

Sandra R. Joshel et al (eds.) (2001) Imperial Projections: Ancient Rome in Modern Popular Culture, Arethusa

Tom Kingston (2008) Rome to Offer Disney Style Ruins, in The Guardian, 15. August 2008

Adolf Loos (1910) Architecture, (trans W. Wang), in Y. Safran and W. Wang, The Architecture of Adolf Loos, Arts Council Exhibition Catalogue, London, 1985

David Lowenthal (1985) The Past is a Foreign Country, Cambridge

Aldo Rossi (1966) The Architecture of the City, introduction by Peter Eisenman, trans. of L'Architettura della Citta, by D. Ghirardo and J. Ockman, Oppositions Books, MIT Press, 1982

Joseph Rykwert (2000) The Seduction of Place: The City in the Twenty First Century and Beyond, Weidenfeld and Nicolson

Michael Sorkin (1992) Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space, Hill and Wang

Marguerite Yourcenar (1951) Memoirs of Hadrian, trans. by G. Frick, Penguin

Films:

Notes toward a studio

2008-10-01T14:37:00.013+01:00

Studio: Architecture, travel and the past.

Authenticity

de Botton - The Art of Travel
Huysmans - Against Nature
Lowenthal - The Past is a Foreign Country
Theme park/Disneyland
Rome - current mayor
Architect as outsider
Adolf Loos
The grand tour
Piranesi/Roma Interrotta (also current 30th anniversary exhibition)
Julian Barnes - England, England (Isle of Wight as theme park)
Open University - Heritage podcasts
Cullinan/English Heritage - ongoing saga of Stonehenge

Barcelona - a city that has reinvented itself without anxiety about losing its identity or about destroying its past.

Rome as the urban laboratory par excellence

Check library for Nolli plan - site?
Interactive Nolli map - Oregon
Legionnaires outside Colosseum

Imperial Projections - Ancient Rome in Modern Popular Culture

EUR / Cinecittà

Films:
Greenaway - Belly of an Architect
Fellini's Roma
Fellini - La Dolce Vita
Neo-realist cinema - Rome: Open City, Bicycle Thieves

Gonzales - The Tourist
Fila B. - At home in space

Eamonn - Politics of the Piazza
Dan Wrightson?
Robert
Selina - Hadrian's villa as an embodiment of his travels (Yourcenar)
Jane - Venice / the virtual tourist
Dan Cruickshank - December visit?

Technology:
New v. Old
Sustainability and re-use
Autonomy of form
Environmental response in trad. buildings and urban form

Initial thoughts

2008-10-01T14:23:00.010+01:00

Inspiration from a newspaper article and a book...

The Guardian, 15. August 2008, reports on a proposal for a theme park for/of Rome.

Summer holiday reading - Alain de Botton (2002) The Art of Travel

...sitting in a shady garden, at an olive green polyethylene garden table with a fake mosaic print top.